A Reaper's Tale
by tillyanimegirl
Summary: What started out as a normal day would soon be turned upside down. It seemed that the myth of Re-Death experiences was true, and Ronald is the one to experience it. What will happen during and possibly afterwards? Read to find out! (Story is better than summary) TW: Vomititng; Sickness; Very extremely minor mention of abuse
1. So called 'myth'

What seemed nothing more than a simple day at the office for our beloved reapers would turn their lives upside down. Ronald, a reaper with two toned hair walked into the office, his head bowed down. The normal grin that he held on his face was gone, replaced with one that resembled a look of poorly hidden pain. Today was Ronald's, as the other reapers would call it, re-death experience. There had only been legends about this happening to other reapers before, and many thought it was just a myth. The legend had said, that on the same day that you had died, you would once again go through the pain and suffering you felt when you passed. Ronald's morning had started off like every other morning. Wake up, get dressed, brush teeth, eat breakfast, and leave for the day. Though today, when he had woken up, he had felt a small nagging pain in the pit of his stomach. He thought nothing of it, but had a light breakfast before heading off to work. Once at work, he headed to his office and worked on his paperwork for a couple hours. During that time the pain in his stomach had grown and he began to feel nauseous. Time seemed to drag on and it seemed as though the day would never end. When it felt that Ronald would lose everything in his stomach William, his onyx haired boss, had called him into his office. Normally, the stotic boss knew everything that was going on in the workplace. But he failed to realize that today was the anniversary of Ronald Knox's death.

Thousands of years ago a young Ronald Knox was alive. Though for the young boy, it had always felt like he would rather be dead.

Ronald had grown up in Buffalo, New York. This was a very poor city where people barely made anything. He lived with his mother in a rundown apartment. His father had left as soon as he had turned one. His mother, Janice Knox, was an abusive alcoholic. Every day seemed to be the same, come home, get beat, watch mother get drunk and pass out on the couch. Sometimes he would have to drag her up to her bed so she didn't hurt herself. He had been doing this for so long that he didn't even care anymore. No matter what he did, it was an excuse to get beaten by his mother. If he came home one minute late he was beat, if it was an hour, his head was dunked in water, and if it was a day, well, he wasn't allowed back inside until his mother deemed he was allowed. This could be for hours, days, occasionally weeks. Ronald had no friends so he had to just sit there and wait till his mother would let him in. As soon as he was old enough, Janice had sent him out of the house to get work. During this time, Ronald had learned how to do practically every job. He was the handy man of the town, if something broke down; he was there to fix it. Regardless how much money he made, Janice had spent it all on booze. This had continued on for years, one day Ronald had got tired of it. It was his birthday today and his mother promised him that she wouldn't get drunk, but that was a lie. Though he wasn't legal age to drink yet, only now turning 17, he couldn't take it anymore. What was so great about this booze that his mother had to drink it all the damn time!? He was tired of dealing with his mother beating his, berating him, and blaming him for his father leaving. He was tired of her taking all of the booze for herself; it was his turn to try some of this magical liquid, to feel happy for once. Storming to the kitchen, Ronald opened the cabinet and grabbed all of the booze that his mother had, and a bottle opener. Popping open a bottle of whiskey, he put it to his lips and began to drink. The harsh liquid burned his throat as it went down. Ronald began drinking bottle after bottle, ignoring the sick feeling that began to bubble up in his stomach. He was almost to his last bottle when his stomach gave way and he began to vomit. Ronald forced the last bottle into his mouth and began to chug the contents of the bottle as fast as he could. The entire collection of booze was cleaned of when Ronald's body had started going into convulsions. He dropped the bottle in his hand with a crash and landed to the floor. The edged of his vision turned black and it closed into his until his body stopped shaking and everything was black. He woke up in a while room on a soft bed. He looked around at what seemed to be an infirmary, in front of him stood a tall man in a black suit, slicked back hair, and square framed glasses. He spoke with a cold and stotic voice "Ronald Knox, welcome to the Reaper dispatch association, now that you are here. You will train to become a reaper, if you pass the exam you will go on to become a full-fledged reaper, if not, well, you'll find out." And with that he walked off.

That was thousands of years ago, and here he was today, about to experience the same pain that he had thousands of years ago, but this time worse, because he wasn't going to die again. No, merely feel the pain over and over again until this passed.

Ronald shook his head, shaking the memories of his past out of his head and headed into William's office, a hand placed gingerly on his stomach. The soft nagging pain in his stomach that was there this morning had grown into a searing pain that was impossible to ignore. Normally, Ronald was really good at hiding pain and acting as though nothing was wrong, but right now he was struggling to just be alive it felt like. He held his breath as a wave of nausea rushed over him. Biting his lip, he waited for it to pass before speaking. He uttered a small "hey boss." With his voice being so low, to those who weren't paying attention, it would have sounded more like a mouse squeak. William just spared a glance at the young reaper, noting the subdued attitude of the normally perky Ronald and his set down his paperwork and adjusted his glasses. "Are you well Ronald?" He asked. If he had any concern for the younger reaper, he sure did hide it well.

This caused Ronald to shift nervously "Ha-Ha! Just fine!" Ronald responded, swallowing harshly as a wave of nausea swept over him. A soft green tinge covering his face, the nausea was worse and if he had to speak before this wave passed, he was almost sure that he was going to lose all of his stomach contents all over the floor.

William only offered him a small glare before he moved on, picking up a pike of paperwork and a death book. "You're reaping assignments for the day and accompanying paperwork. Oh and do see if you can locate Mr. Sutcliff if he doesn't show up soon, we will be working overtime once more." Pushing the object towards him, William looked over at his youngest member once more. Noticing the faint green tinge on his face he gave a small sigh. "And see Eric about your illness, would you?"

Ronald just nodded before giving a small salute and heading off. He was going to speak to Eric to avoid doing paperwork. Normally the two toned reaper hated doing overtime, but decided since it was inevitable that it would do no harm to slack off. When he walked into the room, Eric began to eye the other as he walking over. Noting the ever present green tinge on the younger reapers face, he raised an eyebrow before speaking. "Ye alrigh' Knox?" He spoke in a heavy Scottish accent.

Ronald just gave an alert look, shifting his weight from one foot to another. "Hm? Oh! I'm fine!" He lied through his teeth. He felt as though it wasn't as though anyone could really do anything about it, he just looked like he was ill to everyone else.

"I don't believe you." Eric stated curtly. "Remember I was a doctor, and I take care of Alan all the time. Don't try and lie to me when you ain't feeling well kid." He gave a harsh look towards the other. He didn't appreciate being lied to when the facts were clearly obvious.

Ronald sped up his speech to hide his ever present stutter. "I-I told you I was fine." It didn't do much for him, realizing if he stayed there any longer he would cause more suspicions "Oh well look at the time, I gotta go reap someone, bye now!" He left the room as fast as he could to start on his reaper and so he could delay the inevitable interrogation.

Eric just watched him leave, concern still looming over him. "You better be alright kid." He muttered before returning to his paperwork.

Many hours had passed and the day had gone on per usual. When Ronald finally came back, it was five minutes after lunch had started. If the boy had looked bad before, he looked worse now. His face was stark white with a bright tinge of green on his cheeks. His body was shaking and he looked as though he was about to kneel over and die any minute now. The reaper silently headed to his office, trying to avoid everyone and not raise any suspicions. When he had gotten to his cubicle, he sat down and practically curled into himself. One arm was wrapped tightly around his stomach. Eric had noticed him and let out a sigh before getting up to talk to William. Knocking on the door he waited for William to acknowledge him with a "Come in" before entering. "Yes Mr. Slingby?" William asked curtly, a little annoyed at being disturbed during his lunch.

"Umm, Boss, it's about Ronald. I don't think he is well, but he won't talk to me. He wasn't looking good earlier before he left, but now he is even worse. I was thinking maybe you should talk to him." Eric stated, watching his stotic bosses face and waiting for a response.

William just sighed before standing "Didn't you do anything for his nausea earlier?" He glared at Eric, he knew all about illnesses or so he heard.

Eric could only shake his head "No sir. He said he was alright and then ran before I had the chance to give him anything." Eric had stated ashamed of him-self for not being able to help Ronald before anything could have gone wrong.

William groaned and then exited his office, motioning for Eric to accompany him in the tow walk to Ronald's cubicle. Ronald had rested his head on his hand which was placed on the desk and forced himself to do paperwork with his freehand, hoping that if he finished it all, he might be able to avoid overtime and just go home. The pain in his stomach was getting absolutely unbearable and the nausea was getting worse. As he tried to write, his hands trembled and he could barely hold his pen. Ronald focused on the task at hand and nothing else around him. William walked behind Ronald and stood there, watching as he attempted to do his work. With a sigh he leaned down and took the pen from Ronald "With your hand shaking that much your paperwork will be illegible and not any good to us." He stated matter-o-factly, wondering to himself how long it would take before the young reaper admitted that he was unwell.

Ronald looked up from his paperwork to find Eric and William there. He sat up straight to address the two standing there. "O-Oh, I'm sorry boss I just, I w-was tryin' ta get m' paperwork done i-is all." There was a tremble in his voice no matter how hard he tried to suppress it, and the volume of his voice was as low as a mouse.

Shaking his head William spoke in a cool voice. "Mr. Knox, what is not true. You are unwell. Please allow Mr. Slingby to attempt to help you." He glared at Ronald, trying to get some sense into the boy.

"I a-am not, I am perfectly well." Ronald snapped at the other, he refused to let his guard down and admit to the others that he was unwell. He was so used to hiding when he was sick that when it came to the point that he absolutely needed help, he would still refuse to back down and admit defeat.

"Bullshit kid. Now let me try to help you." Eric growled out at the younger reaper. There was concern etched onto his face, all he wanted to do is help the other no matter how much he was resisting.

"I t-told you, I'm fine." Ronald placed his hands on the sides of the chair he was sitting on and pushed himself upwards, forcing himself to stand up. Feeling as though he was about ready to collapse, he held onto his desk. His knuckles were turning white from the amount of force he was using to hold onto the desk. His entire body began to shake at this point but he refused to let his guard down, especially in front of the others.

This was the final straw. William reached out and put his hand on Ronald's shoulder, giving a light push to the other so he fell into the chair. Holding him there, he looked over and nodded to Eric, who came over and started to check Ronald over. Trying to find out what exactly was wrong with the younger reaper. This caused Ronald to panic. He hated the feeling of being trapped. The fear made his face turn a ghostly while and his cheeks were a vibrant green. Struggling to get up was useless as it was more like the boy was shifting around in his seat. Letting out a soft whimper he tried to speak. "I-I…" He shut his mouth and opened it again, gaping like a fish out of water, just trying to get the words out of his mouth, but no sound was coming out.

"Just calm down kid, this will be quicker if you relax." Eric said in a soft voice, trying to sooth the kid while he worked on him. Reapers rarely got ill so it was harder it was harder to figure out what they had in the cases when they did get sick.

Ronald just whined again in response, trying once again to speak as he squirmed around. The words didn't seem to want to come out of his mouth. "I-I don't…" He bit his lip as dreaded feeling in his stomach grew worse. He wanted nothing more than to just curl into a ball and get away from all of this.

Once Eric had finished up inspecting Ronald, he straightened up and let out a sigh. "I ain't got a clue Sir, it's not a reaper illness, nor is it the thorns, and we don't get human illnesses, so I'm truly at a loss. My best bet would be to send him home and let this all blow over without any stress from work." He sounded rather distraught at the fact that he couldn't help Ronald, especially seeing how much pain the boy was in.

William merely sighed and released Ronald, giving a small nod to Eric. "Very well Mr. Slingby. I will take your word for it. Mr. Knox, Go home." He commanded, leaving no room for the other to question him.

Without much warning, Ronald leaned over with his arms wrapped around his stomach and his mouth open. Bile had begun to rise up his throat and started to vomit all over the floor. He had tried to wait till he got home, or at least there was no one around, to get sick but that obviously hadn't worked. Tears pricked out of the corners of his eyes, embarrassed that this was happening, in front of his boss and friend no less.

"Slingby, A garbage pail! Now!" William yelled; coming to stand behind Ronald, rubbing his back gently as Eric ran off to grab a metal garbage pail. Returning, he held it under Ronald's mouth as he threw up.

Coughing and sputtering, Ronald was practically gasping for air before he vomited into the bucked once more. His arms wrapped tightly around his midsection as he tried to focus on the hand softly rubbing circles on his back. He started muttering soft little apologies as his stomach convulsed and rebelled once more. "No need to apologize Mr. Knox, just relax." William stated softly and Eric agreed, still holding the bucket under Ronald's mouth.

The younger reaper just nodded, drying heaving into the bucket before he spit up bile. He relaxed ever so lightly, arms wrapped around his midsection loosely, breathing rather heavily. The pain in his stomach seemed to relax before coming back worse than before. He let out a barely audible 'ow' and shut his eyes tightly, trying to will the pain away. "What did you do kid?" Eric asks softly, concern laced in his voice. William left the room for a moment to tell Alan that he is in charge, before returning and standing Ronald up.

"Come on Mr. Knox, time to go home. Mr. Slingby will clean up this mess and will finish the paperwork for you." William stated, trying to help the other up.

When Ronald was helped up, his legs shook tremendously and threatened to collapse under him at any moment. His breath was labored and going at an irregular pace, about 8 breaths per minute. "I will hopefully return tomorrow. I do not think that Mr. Knox should be left alone in such a state." William stated, leading Ronald towards the exit. "Oh, and if Sutcliff shows up, do give him a cut on the face for me."

Ronald normally would have made a snide comment about Grell, and have a good laugh, but in the condition seeing the condition he was in, Ronald just focused on getting home, and where he lived for that matter. Once they were outside, William let out a sigh and glanced at the younger reaper who shared his blood. "Ronald, what on earth is wrong?" He stated coldly, frustrated at the other.

This just made Ronald look at the other, confused beyond belief "what do you mean?" He started to stare past William, refusing to look the other in the eyes.

"You do too. You are ill and I am concerned. Last time you were this ill, you were human." William murmured sternly to the other.

Ronald just blinked back stupidly, his mind was foggy and he couldn't think straight. "…I can't seem to remember anything right now…" His legs were shaking uncontrollably and he looked as though any moment now he was going to collapse.

William quickly gathered him into his arms, sprinting the rest of the distance to Ronald's home. He didn't want anyone to see him in such a state. When he got there he let himself in and took Ronald to his room and laid him on the bed. Concern laced his voice as he spoke but he tried to sound gentler. "Please do try to remember Ronald. I am worried."

Ronald just furrowed his brow, trying to think. "D-Dad…?" he asked questionably, not quite sure of what he was saying or trying to say. Unexpectedly his libs began to shake uncontrollably and he begun to have a seizure.

William furrowed his brow when Ronald had referred him to as father and shook his head. "Not father, your grandfather's father." It took him a second to realize that Ronald was having a seizure, but when he did, his eyes widened and he nearly panicked. He was finally able to realize what exactly was happening with Ronald. He had put two and two together and realized that he was re-living his death.

The seizures had lasted for quite a while before they subsided and Ronald's body finally gave out. He lay there still, the pain getting too much for the young reapers body to handle. William sat on the side of the bed, keeping a cool wash cloth on his forehead and murmuring softly Shakespeare's, A Midsummer's Night Dream. The sound of his voice filling the room as William recited it perfectly from memory. Ronald watched the other sleepily, listening very intently to every word that is spoken. Finally noticing the washcloth on his forehead, Ronald tried to push it off.

"Don't, just leave it." William scolded, glancing back down at his with soft green eyes, running a hand through Ronald's hair. William went back to reciting the play in an effort to distract Ronald from the pain of re-experiencing his death.

Ronald flinched softly when William had gone to pet his hair, afraid that he was going to get smacked. Letting out a soft whimper, he discreetly tried to push the washcloth off of his forehead. "I'm not going to hurt you Ronald. Please just relax and leave the washcloth." William spoke as he kept an eye on Ronald.

Ronald opened his mouth and tried to speak. "F…in…e"  
his voice cracked tremendously and the volume of his voice was barely over a whisper.

"Shhh, don't talk." William pushed Ronald's hair back from his forehead, replacing the washcloth with a new one and started back up with reciting Shakespeare, changing to Hamlet this time as he had finished A Midsummer's Night Dream.

Ronald watched the other intensely, wiggling around to get himself comfortable but to no avail. He closed his eyes and continued to listen as William spoke, focusing on attempting to sleep but to no avail.

William had decided to stay the night, changing the washcloths often, bringing Ronald a bit of blank food and some water, and of course a pail to throw up in when it all came back up. The only sounds in the house were of his quiet reciting of Shakespeare. Meanwhile Ronald had spent half of the night trying to sleep. When he had finally fallen asleep, he began to have a terrible nightmare. He whined, squirmed and flinched in his sleep; As well as mumbling words in his sleep as if he was begging someone to stop, followed by a string of apologies. William frowned at the signs of distress and murmurs the lines a little louder, hoping to reach inside of the nightmare. Ronald just curled himself into a ball, letting out a choked sob. He woke up with a start and let the tears flow freely. William brought him into his arms, murmuring soothingly into his ear as he comforts his great grandson, wishing that he could ease the other's pain. Ronald just trembled greatly "I-I'm sorry I-I'm sorry I'm r-really sorry mom." Gripped onto William' shirt, Ronald played with the fabric in his hands.

"Mom? Child, do you know where you are?" William asked questionably to the other. He wasn't quite sure why he was being called mom.

Ronald just shook his head no, trying to hide himself. He tried to hide himself under William's shirt, nuzzling himself very discreetly under the fabric. "Ronald, I am not your mother. I am William T. Spears, your great grandfather. You are no longer a human, but a Shinigami, a reaper. She cannot hurt you any longer." William tucked in his shirt to stop the other and let out a small sigh before holding him close.

Ronald just glanced up at the other curiously before speaking "Yer m' great grandfather?" He sounded as though he didn't want to believe the other but almost had to.

William nodded and let a chuckle escape when Ronald made a surprised face at the other. "But wait, how come I've never met ya while I was alive?" He spoke in his quiet voice but in such a tone that stated that he had shown that William was wrong.

"I died before you were born Ronald, but I kept an eye on my daughter, your grandmother, and her children, and you." He stated to the other, running a hand through his hair.

"Then why did m' mom be mean to me, 'nd who was related to you?" He paused for a moment, his face dropping "It was my dad wasn't it…?"

"Yes it was your dad. I do not know why your mother was so cruel. But she cannot harm you now. She rests in the burning pit now." William growled softly, holding Ronald closer, a protective instinct showing itself.

Ronald just snuggled closer to the other and laid his head on William's chest, listening to the soft heartbeat. William shook his head before gently taking Ronald off of him and heading to the kitchen. Once he was in the kitchen he looked over the various foods before finding some chamomile, lavender, and rosemary. Smiling to himself he set some water to boil, placing the chamomile and lavender I there as it boiled. Next he went about preparing a small platter of crackers, some cheese, meat, and a spread made with rosemary, sage and mint all in a soft cheese. On the way back to the bedroom he walked slowly as not to spill the tea that was on the tray. When he was walking back to the bedroom he heard a soft gasp from the room that Ronald was in that was followed by a whimper. The young reaper had squirmed around on the bed, trying to find a comfortable position to lie in now that William wasn't there to lie on, and had ended up in a very awkward position that had barely numbed the pain. Spots began to cloud his vision and the room started to spin. When William had heard the gasp he went as fast as the tea on the tray would let him. When he got into the room he shook his head softly at the sight of Ronald's position "Ronald do sit up, and I have some food for you. Please try and eat some of it. It has some natural remedies in it to help with the pain, as well as the tea." William put the tray down before sitting on the bed next to Ronald.

Ronald twisted himself around to sit up, responding to the other with a soft whine. His body was trembling from the pain and he started to sway from side to side as the room started spinning rather fast as though he was sitting on the blades of a fan. He shut his eyes tightly, his hands clenched so tightly that his knuckles began to turn white, and he bit his lip so hard it began to bleed. "I don't like this…I want it to stop!" He shouted out quietly. His voice was strained when he tried to talk.

"I know Ronald, I know. Just, please try and eat something. I am trying to help you Ronald." William sighed and lightly brushed his lips over the top of Ronald's hair, wishing more than anything he could take the pain from the younger one. "I seemed to have forgotten something in the kitchen." William stood up and gave the other a hard look, telling him to eat as he moves to get something from the kitchen.

When William had left the room Ronald looked down at the cracker platter and picked up some crackers shakily before shoving them in his mouth. He also shoved some cheese and ham into his mouth. He didn't want to eat but if he must he would do it as quick as he could so it would be over sooner. Ronald forced himself to eat as much as he could so he would make William happy. When said reaper had gotten back from the kitchen he sat down next to the other, smiling softly when he realized that the other had eaten. "Now try and relax. And eat slowly this time; it will help keep you from over eating. You seem to have enough trouble keeping anything down, overeating will help nothing." He leaned over and grabbed a tea cup, holding it over to the other, hoping he would take it.

"I already ate…" Ronald spoke wearily; swallowing whatever was in his mouth and eyed the tea in front of him, shaking his head at it. He didn't want to eat, or even drink. It felt as though there was a dead weight pressing down on his head and the room was growing incredibly hot. It felt as though he was about to lose consciousness but he wasn't about to tell William that. Besides, Ronald thought that he would be able to control himself and keep from passing out. He silently hoped that tomorrow the pain would subside enough so that he could act like he was better, though that didn't seem as though it was going to happen any time soon.

"I see, and that is good, just do take it slow. And sip the tea at least; it will soothe the nausea and the pain." William sipped at his own cup, enjoying the blending of flavors from the two herbs he had put into it. The chamomile is soft, mellow and barely there, blending into the tea leaves he had used. The lavender however, popped, was vibrant, and full of life.

Ronald ignored the tea that William was holding and laid down so his head was resting in Williams lap before closing his eyes. He was slowly slipping out of consciousness though; he did his best to make it look as though he was falling asleep. "I'm just gonna…sleep cus…I don't feel good…goodnight." He stated before slipping out of consciousness at that moment, making look as though he had just fallen asleep though such was not the case.

William sighed and run his hand through Ronald's hair after placing the cup on the bedside table. As Ronald 'slept', William snacked on the cheese, meat, and spread, as well as sipping at the tea. Slowly his own eyes began to close as he drifted off to sleep himself. Five hours had passed before Ronald began to stir in his sleep. His stomach had decided it was going to reject the food that he had eaten earlier, and he began to vomit. Due to the fact that he was lying down, the vomit began to clog his airways and he began to choke. This wouldn't have killed him seeing as it was incredibly hard to die once you were a reaper, but it didn't mean that it wasn't painful. Not much longer William had begun to wake up, feeling the bed shake ever so slightly. He sat up, took a look around before glancing down. "Ronald?" He frowned as he watched the other; it looked as though he was choking. Wait what? William reacted quickly; sitting the other up to let him clear of his throat of whatever was blocking the airways.

Ronald threw up all over himself, gasping for breath before gagging again. The now conscious reaper cupped a hand over his mouth. "I-I'm sorry, I-I'm really sorry-!" He said as he tried to push himself off of the bed but to no avail.

"It's fine." William sighed, and began to rub Ronald's back in hopes of soothing the boy; he patted it lightly as a gesture to tell the boy to stay where he was "Stay, Relax."

"N-No, I'm…I think Ima be sick again…!" He whined an arm around his stomach as he bent forward. Oh how he wished this torture would end already.

"If you are, you are." William continued to rub his back soothingly, not wanting the other to get up and risk upsetting his stomach more. He reached over and offered other some now chamomile tea, wanting to see if he would take in hopes of soothing his stomach.

Ronald tried to grab the tea, and stared down at the cool liquid. He decided to take a small sip, feeling cool the liquid slide down his throat before the bile started to rise up. He handed the cup back to William, leaning forward as much as he could and vomiting once more. Some of the vomit had gone up his nose in a rather painful manor. William sighed, it had been a futile hope to think it would do any good at this point, but still he had tried. All he could do now was stay by his side, comforting him and cleaning him the time finally came that the re-death experience had passed completely. Ronald leaned against William, letting out a sight and reaching towards the tea. He snuggled and made himself rather comfortable, the corners of his mouth twitching into a small smile. The pain was starting to subside slowly, it hadn't subsided by much but it was getting there. William handed him the tea, wiping his off his forehead and cleaning up a little of the vomit still on the corner of his mouth. "Feeling any better?"

Ronald just nodded softly "Kinda…I don't hurt as much but it still hurts." He looked up at William as he was drinking his tea, nearly spilling on himself.

William shook his head slightly at the other "Good and at least the pains fading." He gave a small smile before pouring the other some more tea.

Ronald gave a small nod and snuggled up to the other. He was silent for a couple of seconds before a thought came to his mind. "Mmm, you'd make a great dad…" He blurted out without giving the sentence much thought.

This made a small blush pop up onto William's cheeks "Thank you, I tried to be a good parent when I had children."

This caused Ronald to gasp stupidly "You had children?" He emphasized on the word children; his mind was still a bit foggy from the latest endeavor.

"Yes I did, in-fact it was my daughter's son that fathered you." William smiled sadly at Ronald and ruffled his hair softly.

"Oh…" Ronald's face fell completely, a sad and rather solemn face taking his last expressions place. He was rather upset that he had never really knew his dad, but he had just figured that his mom was mean to his father as well as to him and that's why he left, at least, that's what he hoped.

"What is it Ronald?" William asked. His own smile faded when he had saw Ronald's face drop, he hated to see the other so upset.

"I just, I kinda wish I had my dad, ya know? Or that he at least took him with me…" He face continued to look sadder and sadder, his face began to turn a red color before he hid his face in William's chest suddenly, taking a deep breath.

William sighed and ran a hand through Ronald's hair. "My grandson, your father, was a good man, but he did wrong to you and your mother when he just left. I am truly sorry for that. Know that he did care for you, just never found time to return and take you back with him, but had he the chance he would have done it in a heartbeat."

Ronald just nodded at this and said nothing for a while, snuggling farther into William's chest until he deemed himself calm enough to speak. "Mom was mean, and he was never there to help save me…I don't know ever know if he would save me, maybe just maybe, I hope that he would save me, occasionally mom's few boyfriends would help me, the others would just help her, but I always like to think that he would have saved me, ya know? That one day he would appear and take me away, take me away from that hellhole that was called home…" Ronald sighed and went silent once again, taking deep breaths to calm himself down.

"I know, that had been a short falling of his, but everyone has them. Your mother needed more help than she got, and that is a short falling. You cannot judge people harshly for those." William stated to the other, hoping it might have eased some anger he had towards his parents.

"I do have a right to be mad at her, she hurt me, and she did it on purpose." Ronald growled the mere thought of his mom and the beatings that he got from her easily set off his temper.

"Yes, but still Ronald, we must have a clear head when judging the souls, and if we cannot forgive those who wronged us in our past life, how can we make unbiased decisions?" William stated coolly to the other reaper.

Ronald just made a small 'humph' noise and moved himself so his face was now hidden in William's lap instead of his chest. "I still think she is mean, and I will continue to think she is mean no matter what you say." Ronald was a stubborn child, no matter how much you tried to justify his mom's actions he flat our refused to forgive her for all that she had done.

"She was, and it is hard to forgive such things. But they must be forgiven, but that is also why I refuse to give you assignments of abusers, I know that you wouldn't be able to handle it without making a biased decision." William sighed and shook his head softly.

Ronald sneered and sprawled his body out on the bed. "I wonder if she's sorry…I wonder if she's mad at me. I wouldn't be surprised if she was though, I cleaned out all of her booze." He let out a low chuckle, sounding a bit proud of himself for what he did.

"And that would be why you died." William pointed out to the other when he had stated he cleaned out all of his moms booze. "She is dead now, and as I have said before, in the pits of hell, burning."

Laughing coldly Ronald made a face, thinking back to the pain he had experienced when he had first died and the pain that he had felt not too long ago. "Oh gosh, as if dying wasn't bad the first time."

William sighed at the other and leaned back. "I can only imagine, now try and get some rest will you?" He raised his eyebrows at the other. He really did want the other to relax; he had been through a lot and needed the rest.

The younger reaper stuck his tongue out at the other and snuggled up close to William, closing his eyes and trying to fall asleep. It had taken him two hours to fall asleep but considering how long it had taken before, it was defiantly quicker and possibly a sign to show that he was in fact recovering. As Ronald had slept, William rubbed his back gently. Not much longer after Ronald had fallen asleep the accursed phone had started to go off. William growled softly at this before getting up. He turned around to tuck Ronald in before going to answer the phone. The sound of the phone going off had woken up the two toned reaper, and he lifted up his head to see what the source of the noise was. He tried his best to make it look like he was still sleeping in case William had looked over at him; he didn't want anyone to get beaten up by William for waking him up. "Yes?" William asked the other person on the line, a growl was evident in his voice. He mentally thought to himself that if anyone had woken William up, they were dead.

"Umm, boss, it's me Slingby. I just wanted to know if Ronald was doing any better now?" Eric said over the line, going a tad pale back at the office, hearing the clear displeasure if William's voice.

"Yes he is. I had just gotten him to sleep when you called. You best hope for your sake that phone ringing didn't wake him. Goodbye." William stated curtly before hanging up before Eric even had the chance to reply and then sighed, heading back to the bedroom.

Ronald had been listening to the conversation the entire time, straining to hear what they were saying. When he heard William walking back he quickly acted like he was asleep. He could have passed for being asleep except for the fact that he couldn't quit smiling at the fact that he was trying to trick William into thinking he was asleep. No matter how much he tried, he continued to have a large grin on his face. Wiggling himself under the blankets quickly, he hoped that William hadn't seen him because he had shut his eyes and pretended to be asleep. William glanced over at Ronald, at first thinking that he had been asleep. He sat down beside Ronald once more and his hand started to rub his back again. The shift in the bed had caused the blankets to pull back ever so slightly and William had noticed the grin that Ronald was sporting, and growled softly at the fact that Eric had woken up Ronald who desperately needed rest. "Open your eyes Ronald, I know for a fact that you are indeed awake, there is no use in trying to trick me."

The younger lifted up his head and giggled softly, and rather sheepishly as well "hehe- hey boss" he continued to giggle, starting to have a giggle fit. Even though William was looking at home so seriously he couldn't stop giggling and the fact that William was looking at him wasn't helping at all, actually it was making him giggle even more.

William rolled his eyes at the other and leaned back, plotting how to best kill Eric for waking Ronald up. That and how he was going to keep an eye on Ronald in the future. After this incident he felt that is was necessary to watch after him lest anything more happen to the poor reaper. "What did tha person on tha phone hafta say?" Ronald was curious as to who it was and what they were calling about, though he figured he would be able to find that much out when William beat them up for waking himself up.

"Nothing of importance." William growled, still quite angry that Eric had woken up Ronald, making a mental note to give Eric a rather harsh beating too.

In that moment, Ronald sat up and grasped Williams face, squishing it softly "Oh cheer up mister grumpy pants, it's not that bad."

William just sighed once more and adjusted his glasses, glancing outside to see that is was still night outside, he pulled down the covered and slid beneath them. "I'm going to attempt to sleep now, if that is alright."

Ronald just nodded and snuggled up next to him, a small smile on his face as the two slept together. The illness was over but that was the least of their problems it would seem like.


	2. Back at the Office

A couple of days later the two were back in the office, but this time Ronald's desk was moved into William's office so he could keep a close eye on him. Ronald had his head resting on top of the desk as he did paperwork. He had only been back for a couple days and problems were already starting to arise. He hadn't been feeling all too well lately. It was almost as if the stomach pains from his last endeavor had come back, though it was not as though he was going to tell William, or truly anyone in the that case. William was sitting beside Ronald in his own desk, looking over the day's assignments for his team and filling in the Death books for each member. The day was looking to be a slow one considering how few deaths were scheduled for the day. Sighing, he rubbed his temples after pushing his glasses back up his nose. "What's up William?" Ronald asked questionable, looking up at the other, giving a soft yawn. He stretched slightly before going back to his paperwork, trying to distract himself from the now nagging pain in his stomach.

"Just bored." William stated quietly before writing another name in the book. That was finally the last name that he had to write down. "I will be right back I am going to go hand out the day's assignments now." He got up from his seat with the three death books in hand as well as the paperwork to go along with the souls to be reaped, and exited the room.

Right as William had left the room, Ronald head hit the desk in front of him and he had fallen asleep. While William was away, Ronald had seemed to shrink and de-age to a toddler of about four years old. William was out giving Eric and Alan their work without problem. He still couldn't find Grell, so he just left them on the red head's desk before returning quickly to his office. When William had noticed the toddler he froze, and fought back the urge to scream. The toddler just looked up at William and waved at him. A big grin was spread across his face and he let out a loud giggle. "Daddy!"

William grimaced at the loud high pitched voice before slowly walking over. "Ronald…? What the hell happened to you?" He questioned the other, hoping that he would get an answer.

The toddler giggled once more at the other "Whatdya mean daddy?" He questioned the taller man. Not only had he been shrunken to the size of a toddler, he now had the mind of a toddler too.

William groaned at the other before speaking as though it was absolutely obvious to the other. "You're a toddler." He stated, not seeming all too pleased with this fact.

Ronald flopped over so he was lying on his back and puffed out his cheeks. "Nu-Uh, I'm four n a HALF." He stated, emphasizing the word half, as though that was extremely important.

William shook his head softly, good god. It had been forever since he last dealt with a toddler. "Okay, you are four and a half." He restated, almost as he was making sure he had gotten in right.

Ronald nodded, rolling himself onto his stomach and trying to stand up. When this task proved to be too difficult, he just rolled back onto his back. "Piggy back ride!" He demanded of the other, hoping that he would comply with his demands.

William just sighed and shook his head before walking over to him. "Just this once," He stated before picking him up, and swinging him up onto his back.

Ronald let out a happy squeal and clapped his chubby little hands, laughing rather loudly. He began to tug on William's hair as if it was the reigns of a horse. "Be a horsy! Run run run!~"

William just groaned and began to run around the office a little. "Happy?" he asked the young one that was sitting on top of his shoulders.

"Nooo! Go Faster! Faster Faster Faster!" He demanded beginning to tug on the others hair as hard as he possibly could.

William sped up, running around the office, not noticing that Grell had finally arrived in the office. Grell was silently walking into the office with some papers in his hand, but he wasn't paying attention to where exactly he was going. William, not noticing the red-haired reaper, ran right into him, nearly falling onto his butt, and almost dropping Ronald as well. When they had collided, all of Grell's papers flew everywhere and he shrieked loudly. "HEY! WATCH WHERE YOU'RE!" Grell started to yell but stopped when he notice that is was William that he ran into. "Oh hello there Will~" He coo's.

William slipped his arms around behind him and caught Ronald, giving Grell an almost poisonous glare. "Sutcliff." He snarled softly at the other.

"Oh don't act all mad at me Will!" He stated dramatically. "You are the one who ran into ME after all!" He placed a hand on his chest and acted offended, not noticing the child that was in front of him.

William sighed and shifted Ronald in his arms so he wasn't being held uncomfortably. "That is true, and I apologize, I was a little distracted and did run into you." He stated, not willing to argue with the red headed reaper.

"Oh Will! What is this? A child perhaps?" Grell stated before leaning in to get a closer look at the little Ronald that was resting in William's arms.

"Unfortunately yes, it is a child, a four and a half Ronald to be exact." William stated in a monotone voice, not too pleased with the situation that he was in.

"Aw, he is so cute!" Grell grinned widely, showing off his sharp, shark like teeth. When Ronald saw the teeth he was absolutely frightened and began to start crying and screaming loudly.

William growled at Grell, bringing Ronald close to him to cradle him against his chest, rubbing his back, not quite pleased that Grell had made Ronald cry. "Nice job Sutcliff, you made him cry."

"It's not my fault the kid is crying!" Grell stated, putting a hand to his chest. Ronald just continued to wail louder and began to squirm around. His face was absolutely red and his cries were starting to sound strained and he gave himself a sore throat.

William's blood began to boil and he snapped at the red head. "You scared him! OF COURSE IT'S YOUR FAULT!" He yelled loudly, ready to grab his death scythe and stab Grell in the head with it. Turning his back to the red headed _thing_, William made soft 'shushing' noises to Ronald in hopes of calming him down.

The loud yelling had from earlier had only made Ronald cry more, hiding his face in those tiny soft chubby little hands of his. Frightened beyond belief at the current moment, and was scared of William now. "Calm down, Shhh. I'm not going to hurt you, nor is that red-haired freak." William spoke softly, still rubbing Ronald's back. Grell made a face when was called a red-headed freak.

Ronald's crying began to quiet down, gradually becoming sniffles and hiccups. He looked up at William tears were still streaming down his tiny face. William smiled down at him, brushing away some of the tears with one of his fingers. "Are you better now?" William asked him, a small smile on his face to hopefully cheer Ronald up.

Ronald nodded meekly and laid his head against William's chest, getting rather comfortable. "Daddy…" His voice sounded rather hoarse from crying earlier.

William smiled more and ruffled little Ronald's hair, chuckling softly. "Yes Ronald?"

"I love you daddy~" He stated happily, trying to lean up to kiss William's cheek. His tiny little lips were pursed.

William leaned down, and allowed Ronald to brush his lips over William's cheek. "I love you too Ronald."

Ronald squealed happily at this and clapped his little hands together before pointing at Grell, making a kissy face at him too. Grell looked at William rather confused, not sure what the little boy wanted. He wasn't too familiar with kids and had always tended to be around the older crowd. William looked down at Ronald, unsure as to what he wanted with Grell as well. He cautiously approached the red haired one, Ronald still in his arms. When he was brought over, he gave Grell a kiss on the cheek. Grell stood there confused, looking like a deer in headlights, meanwhile Ronald was as happy as could be and had the biggest grin on his face. William chuckled at the confused look on Grell's face. "Surprised Mr. Sutcliff?" he asked, trying to keep from chuckling.

"I am…what just happened?" Grell blinked, while Ronald just made noises and wiggled around in William's arms, wanting to be hanging upside down by his feet.

William moved his arms with Ronald, glancing down at the squirming mass in his arms. "I honestly have no clue."

Ronald continued to wiggle and squirm until he was only being held by his legs and the rest of body was upside down. William let out a grunt, trying to fix his hold on Ronald. "If you fall it is your own fault Ronald." William scolded the toddler.

Ronald just squealed and wiggled his feet, "Daddy! Daddy! Daddy! Look at me! I'm upside down!" He laughed happily, wanting attention from William.

"I see you, be careful though." William said, shaking his head and trying once more to adjust his grip on the younger one so he was holding Ronald around the waist.

Ronald continued to wiggle and squirm, trying to get William's attention by possibly falling. "Oh do stop squirming Ronald." William sighed, exasperated and righted Ronald in his arms, holding him upright once.

This just caused Ronald to whine and puff out his cheeks in frustration before he hid his face into William's chest. "Meanie." He stated, sounding rather upset.

"Meanie is just trying to keep you from hurting yourself." William stated. It was taking a lot of patience to deal with Ronald now that he was a toddler.

Ronald began to wiggle around, "down, I wanna get dooown." He demanded and whined, pouting at William to try and get his way.

"Very well," William stated before setting him down, happy that he could finally rest his arms.

Ronald giggled rather happily before running off as fast as he possibly could, leaving William and Grell far behind. "Wait up!" William shouted and sighed before he took off after Ronald, not wanting the toddler to get hurt while he was running.

This just made Ronald giggle more, he continued to run away to try and get away from William, laughing the whole way. "Ronald! now is not the time to be playing tag or the like!" William shouted, running after the little tike, and ignoring the odd looks that he was getting from the other reapers.

This just made Ronald run faster, this whole this was a game to him, and the goal was to run away from William as fast as he possibly could and not get caught. The toddler looked behind him to see how far away William was before he crashed into something. He shook it off and looks at the secretary's desk in front of him. He saw a little puppy as a background and he knew that in that moment that what he wanted more than anything in the world for the current moment, though this would quickly change tomorrow, but today, he would be damned if he didn't get a puppy. William, hearing the crash, began to speed up. Upon reaching Ronald he loud a small tsk under his breath, spotting a small bit of blood under his noise. "I swear you cannot keep yourself safe." William picked up Ronald and grabbed some tissues off the desk, gently wiping the blood away before Ronald noticed it. "Be more careful, would you?"

"Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!" The boy exclaimed happily, a look of pure joy on his face. He was grinning from ear to ear and pointing eagerly pointing to the screen with the puppy on it, practically vibrating from excitement.

"Yes?" William asked cautiously, not sure he would like to hear what the little boy had to say next.

"I wanna puppy! I wanna puppy really bad! I really want once and I promise I'll walk it every day and care for it and give it food and water and love it! Please Please Please!" He begged, hoping that William would cave in and get him a puppy.

"A…puppy?" William questions the toddler, making sure that he heard him right. "Are you certain that you want a puppy?"

Ronald nodded happily. "Mhmm! A dog! A puppy! A woof woof!" he stated as though it was obvious. He would forget about wanting a puppy as soon as they walked to another room though.

William let out a groan. "I don't really think that is a good idea Ronald." He didn't trust the toddler with a pet, and there were no pets in the shinigami realm either.

Ronald face contorted into a deep frown. "B-But why not? I'll walk it and take care of it and love it and feed it and water it I promise!" He begged William.

William did not feel like dealing with the aftermath of telling Ronald that there were no dogs in the shinigami realm. "I will see Ronald, but I can't promise that I can find a puppy that will be able to stay here with us, okay?" he stated wearily, hoping that it wouldn't upset Ronald.

Ronald just nodded, all he got out of that is 'We're getting a puppy'. His thoughts were interrupted by his growling stomach; he suddenly looked up at William. "Daddy, I'm hungry!" He stated, "For food, not for puppies!"

William nodded and gathered Ronald in his arms, heading back into his office. "Very well, what do you want to eat?"

"Food! From the big room with food and people!" He stated. The cafeteria is what he was talking about. He would take from anywhere but it had to be eaten from the cafeteria or he wasn't going to eat it.

"Obviously food, do you want like mac and cheese or whatever?" William asked, heading to the cafeteria.

Ronald pursed his lips and tried to think, the only thing that he could think of was "puppy?" He wiggled around once they got outside the cafeteria. He didn't want to choose any type of food, he wanted everything. "I know I know daddy! Everything! Ona everythin' is what I want!"

"Are you sure?" As he asked, William opened the big wooden, double doors to the cafeteria. The room had brilliant while walls, and black floors. It was large enough to hold the hundreds of reapers that were in the London Dispatch. "That is a lot of food." William warned as he made his way to the food line."

Ronald nodded eagerly. "I'll eat everythin' on my plate! I promise!" He giggled happily, he tended to keep his promises, not that it was always a good thing that he did, but he did in fact, keep his promises.

"You don't need to promise, just eat as much as you want." William informed him as he grabbed a silver plate and began the slow process of filling it with food.

Ronald was just staring at the food happily a giant grin on his face as the food piled up his stomach gave a soft growl at just the thought of stuffing his face. William chuckled at the noise coming from the little one and after grabbing some food for himself as well, he went to go find a seat for the two of them. Ronald scurried after but stayed super close to William and looked around for a sea, when he found an empty table, he took off without telling William ad just figured he'd let him find him. William looked down as Ronald shot off, with a sigh he followed. "Let me know when you are going to run off next time will you?"

Ronald giggled "Sorry daddy! I did tell ya but ta didn't hear me!" By 'I told you' he meant that he had thought the words and assumed that William could hear his thoughts.

"Sure you did Ronald." William shook his head and smiled down at him, setting down the plates on the table before picking Ronald up. William helped him into a seat before pushing in the chain and sitting in his own seat across from Ronald.

Ronald giggled happily and as soon as he was sat down in front of the food, immediately began to shove the food into his mouth. It seemed as though he wasn't even choosing his food before swallowing it. He barely took the time to breathe before putting more food in his mouth it seemed.

"Slow down Ronald, you will make yourself sick if you eat too fast." William warned as he took a bite of his sandwich.

Ronald just looked up and stared at William, swallowing his food. "No I won't." and he went back to stuffing the food in his mouth, going slower by about one second.

William let out a sigh and shook his head. He slowly ate his sandwich, pausing every now and then to take a small sip of tea. Once he was done with all of his food, Ronald reached over to go and try and drink William's tea. He was leaning over the table, his cheeks puffed out in determination. William looked up, wondering what the child could want now. He raised his eyebrows as he watching, leaning back in his chair. "D-Drink..!" Ronald blurted out as he huffed loudly, leaning over more and more to try and grab the tea. His face was turning red from sheer determination.

"Ah-Ah Ahh, What do we say when we want something?" William asked, moving the tea away from Ronald's hands.

Ronald tried to wiggle onto the table to grab the tea, his arm still outstretched and trying to grab the tea. "Now?" He questioned, unsure of what he was supposed to say.

"No that's not it, try again." William said as he moved the tea once more so it was out of Ronald's grasp. "Uhh…I dunno gimmie a hint." Ronald puffed out his cheeks as he continued to work on wiggling towards the tea, determined to get it.

"It starts with a P." William stated, hoping that that was a good enough hint for the little tyke who didn't seem to know what word he was supposed to say.

"Uh…plague?" Ronald questioned, hoping that he got it right, though he didn't think he did. But in all fairness, it did start with a P.

William chuckled softly at the toddlers attempt to guess the word. "Not quite, do try again."

"Um, uh, plane, plate, Pennsylvania?" He asked, hoping that he was able to guess what this magic word was. Wait, magic word, maybe it was, no probably not.

"Nope, no, and nada" William stated, giving Ronald a look, hoping that it would convey the message of exactly what P word he wanted him to say.

"Uhh…please?" Ronald guessed, it seemed like it was the right word but he wasn't exactly sure. He was getting tired of guessing and he just wanted some tea.

"There we go!" William laughed and passed Ronald the tea before he picked up his sandwich to take another bite of it.

Ronald giggled happily and drank half of William's tea before he decided he was done with it and set it down. While William wasn't looking, he slunk off and ran right out of the cafeteria to go and EXPLORE. William shook his head and finished his food, glancing at where Ronald SHOULD have been sitting; William noticed a distinct lack of blond hair. Standing quickly, William grabbed the plates and cup and took them quickly to be cleaned. He then took off through the halls looking for his young great grandson. Ronald had run to Eric and Alan's office and immediately jumped onto their rolling chair. He tried his very hardest to push the chair to go faster, he looked around to see if there was anyone around who could make the chair go must faster. Eric walked in and upon noticing the spinning chair, frowned. "Who is there?" He asked, not knowing what had happened to Ronald.

Ronald giggled happily before exclaiming, "Me!" He tried to push himself faster "Push m' faster mister Eric!" He paused for a second. "Uh, please?"  
Eric paused for a moment, unsure of what exactly what was going on. "Is that you Ronald?"

This caused Ronald to giggle. "Mhmm! Ronal' Knox at ya service!" He exclaimed proudly, the line was almost perfectly rehearsed as if it had been said hundreds of times before. "Now push m' faster! I said please!" He stated, expecting to be pushed faster just because he had said please.

"What on Earth happened ta ye…?" Eric asked as he walked over to the chair, spinning it faster for the kid.

Ronald squealed happily as the chair went faster. "Faster Faster Faster!" he demanded from Eric. "As fast as ya can go!" He shouted happily.

"Very well" Eric said, not knowing that Ronald had a rather huge lunch. He began to spin the child faster and faster, beginning to laugh with him.

Ronald giggled like an idiot before he suddenly felt as though he really wanted the spinning to stop and demanded to get off. "I wanna get off please…" He raised both of his arms so he could be picked up and puffed his cheeks out in frustration.

Eric nodded and slowed the chair incrementally so that the little kid could jump off.

"No no no, pick me up please" Ronald wiggled his arms, wanting to be held "please please please!" He whined he really wanted to be held by someone.

"Um…Are ye sure?" Eric questioned the toddler, unsure whether or not it would be a good idea to pick him up or not.

Ronald nodded "Mhmm, I say'd please" he tried to reach up higher, wanting badly to be picked up and held by someone. It seemed that ever since he was born as a human, whenever Ronald didn't feel well he felt the need to be cuddled and held.

"Very well" Eric reached down and wrapped his arms around the little kid's waist. He hoisted him up and held him like he was asked to by the little tike.

Ronald in that moment snuggled into Eric and made a soft whining noise, puffing out his cheeks. "m' still spinnin'…make it go stop…" he begged of the other, not enjoying the feeling of the room spinning. It felt as though there was a burning liquid rushing up his throat that made his stomach feel funny.

"Just relax kid it will stop on its own." Eric said softly hoping to comfort the kid and held Ronald completely still to hopefully help him.

Ronald wiggled around some more, upsetting his stomach more, and put his hands on his belly. His cheeks puffed out and without much warning he threw up all over Eric and partly himself. The acid burned his throat and vomiting had left him with a bad feeling which upset him causing Ronald to start crying. Just as Ronald had thrown up, William entered the office. Sighing at the sight of Eric covered in vomit; William hung his head in his hands for a moment. "Get yourself cleaned up Mr. Slingby BEFORE you get it on the floor, I will take care of Ronald." Eric just nodded at his boss, setting Ronald on the floor then taking off for the bathroom to clean himself up.

Ronald continued to cry and tried his best to rub away the tears, not wanting to look weak in front of William, he knew it was his fault that he got sick and was worried that William would be mad at him. "'m sorry daddy!" He sniffled and hiccupped, trying his hardest to scrub away the tears.

William shook his head and kneeled before the little boy. "It is alright Ronald; just do remember this for the future, okay?" He ran a hand through the kid's hair before kissing his forehead lightly.

Ronald just nodded and sniffled softly before reaching forward to hug William, it happened to be around the neck because he wasn't too tall, but he made sure to be gentle. William grinned and circled his own arms lightly around the small boy. "Good, now let's get you all clean up, shall we?"

Ronald just nodded happily at William, glad that he wasn't mad at him. "Okay dokey daddy!" he giggled softly but happily.

William just chuckled at the boy's enthusiasm and picked him up, heading towards his house. Ronald snuggled into William before deciding to speak. "Mister Eric sure is strange" He thought out loud.

"Mr. Slingby, yes he is a strange one, but why do you say so?" He looked over at the toddler, wondering what was so strange to the toddler about Mr. Slingby.

Ronald wasn't quite sure why he thought Mister Eric was so weird, he just did. "I dunno, I guess his face maybe?" He didn't realize he was being rude, he was just speaking what he thought was true.

William frowned at this. "Ronald, that is not very nice at all." He scolded softly.

"Well it is, 'nd it is super hairy." Ronald stated he wasn't very used to men having hair on their faces; he was used to seeing people with clean shaven faces that were dressed in suits and did their best to be prim and proper.

"Ronald. We do not call people hairy, and that their face looks weird." William told him sternly, continuing on his way home, holding Ronald and not caring that his suit was currently getting messed up.

Ronald just whined softly and hid his face, afraid that he had made William mad. His hands gripped onto William's suit and he avoided looking at his grandfather, just focusing on the fabric that was in front of him. William frowned as Ronald whined and hid his face. He hadn't wanted to make him upset. He rubbed Ronald's back softly and sighed, looking at where he was going. Reaching the flat he lived in, William opened the door and went in quickly. Ronald flinched slightly when William had laid a hand on him, but had relaxed when he realized that William wasn't going to hurt him. The toddler took the fabric in his hands and placed it up to his nose as soon as he had felt something dripping down from his nose. Ronald looked up at William with his eyes, not at all moving his head. The toddler's grip on the suit only tightened, the feeling of something wet coming out of his nose was still there, and it just seemed to intensify. William frowned and looked down, noting the large red spot on his white shirt. Reacting quickly, he took off his jacket and shirt so that Ronald could still hold onto the shirt and went to the bathroom to get some tissues. Returning with a handful of tissues he kneeled in front of Ronald and took the shirt from the toddler and pressed the tissues to his nose, holding them as to stop the bleeding. Ronald stared with his mouth agape trying to breath, the blood was slowly stopping but it was turning the tissues bright red. Looking down at the tissues Ronald's face turned into a look of terror. He tried to push the napkins away, not sure why this was frightening to him but it, something was telling him that this shouldn't be happening and to get away.

Ronald had never gotten a nose bleed before so the concept of one was terrifying. Not only that but he felt as though he was being held down and couldn't escape, Ronald hated being held down more than anything. If he felt as though he couldn't get free it sent him into a frenzy where he'd start to trash around and get away. There were a number of times when Ronald was human that he had gotten trapped in smaller spaces. The first time he had gotten stuck he was in an air duct trying to fix the fan inside of the air duct. While he was crawling around his clothes had gotten snagged on something sharp. When he tried to move on he found that he was stuck. The owners of the house were away at work so no matter how much he called for help there was no one who heard him. When he tried to wiggle backwards the nail cut his midsection which would later leave a long scar. He was inside the air duct for four hours before he was able to get loose and move on to fixing the fan. One he fixed the fan he made his way out of there as fast as he possibly could. The cut had gotten infected pretty badly and it was a constant reminder to him about the time he got stuck. Ever since then, whenever Ronald felt as though he was trapped, it sent him into panic mode. The longer he felt trapped, the more of the risk he would have of having a panic attack.

"Shhh, calm down, you are alright, it's just a little nose bleed." William consoled the toddler as he kept the tissues to his nose.

"A wha'?" Ronald asked, continuing to try and pull away from the napkins that were being held up to his nose. "Was tha'?"

"Stay put, it's almost done." William told him a soft tone; he really didn't wish to get blood all over the sheets.

"N-Nooo, make it go away, make it go away, make it go awaaay!" Ronald whined, trying to push the napkin away by force, getting rather flustered that he wasn't getting his way, and he was starting to feel trapped.

Once William noted that the bleeding had stopped, he let Ronald push the bloodied tissues away. "See now? We're all done."

Ronald let out one final whined and flopped back onto the bed, calming himself down now that he no longer felt trapped and began to make fish faces and go 'blub blub' before he decided he wanted something. "Daddy!" He blurted out; making the cutest face he could manage, hoping that it would aid him in getting what he wanted.

William tossed the tissues in the trash basked before sitting down beside Ronald on the bed. "Yes Ronald?" He asked as his hand ran through Ronald's hair.

"Can I hav' som' chocolate? Like candy, like sweets, please please please please super please!" He begged using the word please multiple times thinking that it would get him what he wanted; after all, it was the magic word.

"No Ronald, I am sorry but after having made yourself sick, I really don't think you need anything else to eat." William stated.

"But but but, I say'd please!" Ronald made a puppy dog face, tears were pricking at the corners of his eyes. He had said pleas and he hadn't done anything wrong that he could think of. He didn't know why he wasn't getting what he wanted.

William just shook his head at the toddler, no matter what he did or said he wasn't going to get any candy from William. "I said no Ronald."

Ronald whined loudly and flopped onto his back. "I SAID PLEASE THOUGH!" He shouted in distress, he couldn't quite process why he wasn't getting his way, but he knew for a fact that he didn't like it one bit.

"And I said no, I have my reasons Ronald, I am only looking out for you." William stated calmly, not budging on his position of not giving Ronald candy.

"NU UH! YOU ARE JUS' BEIN' A BIG MEANY!" Ronald screamed as loud as he could before jumping off the bed and running off, making it look as though he was running to the living room to sulk.

William just let out a rush of air as he sighed and flopped back onto the bed. "I said no and that is that Ronald." He stated loudly before relaxing. He figured he would let the toddler calm down while William took a long nap.

Ronald waited till he felt the coast was clear before silently opening the door and running out of the house. He had left the door open and ran as fast as his little legs would take him back to the shinigami work place. He was hoping that he would be able to get some candy there at least since he was unable to get any candy from William. Once he was at the shinigami office building he began to run around the building, gathering candy from everyone. He got mints, a couple of actually candies, and some lollipops. His pockets were filled and part way through Grell had given him a plastic bag to hold all of the candy in. Ronald ran over to where Eric and Alan were to ask them for candy. Eric shook his head, still a tad upset with the toddler. He had not particularly enjoyed having to clean vomit off of his suit and having to change into another one when he couldn't get all of the vomit out. "Not gonna happen kid. Now where is Will?" Eric asked sternly to the little toddler.

Ronald just stuck his tongue out at the other. "It was an accident!" he stated, knowing why Eric seemed mad at him. "'N he's at home, pro'lly sleepin'" The toddler had a heavy New York accent that seemed to get heavier as time went on.

"Then why are you here? Did ye come all the way from his house by yerself?" Eric asked, not all that fond of the toddler at the current moment.

Ronald nodded at the other. "I came here ta get sum candy, I know auntie would give m' some" He gave a toothy grin to the other, grinning wider when Alan smiled back at him.

"Aunty?" Eric asked, obviously confused and seeming to have missed out on a whole HELL of a lot. "And ye know kid, candy ain't good for ya."

Ronald just nodded. "Auntie Grell!" He spoke as if it should be obvious. "And yes it is good fer me! It's good cus it tastes good!" Ronald stated to the other as if it was a fact.

Eric just raised an eyebrow at that. Grell as an aunt? Those pictures just didn't seem to mix. "Well I think it's time ye got back to Will's place." Eric said as he grabbed the toddler so he couldn't run away and started towards William's place.

Ronald squeaked loudly when he was picked up and began to squirm, getting stressed out because he felt as though he was being trapped. "Let me go let me go let me go!" Ronald screeched and wiggled around, shaking from the feeling of panic because he felt as though he was being trapped and couldn't escape.

"Calm down kid, Calm down" Eric spoke quietly, moving quickly through the streets.

"No no no no! I w-wanna be let d-down now! I w-want my daddy! I w-want my auntie! L-Let me gooo!" Ronald sobbed loudly; he was on the verge of having a panic attack.

Eric sprinted the last few feet to William's place and set Ronald down. "Calm down, ye are alright, See kid? All is okay" He asked, concerned for the little kid.

Ronald just sat down and curled himself into a small ball, trying to calm himself down. "I d-don' like bein' held all tight like I can't m-move I d-don't like it al a-all" He gave a small whimper, refusing to look up at Eric.

"I am sorry kid; I was trying ta make sure ye got back alright." Eric said, sitting down beside Ronald and putting a hand lightly on his shoulder.

This caused Ronald to squeak loudly, getting a bit brightened by the sudden touch. "Is okay….but ya didn' hafta hold m' so tight." He leaned backwards into Eric.

At the sound of the loud squeak, William awoke. Letting out a groan he stood, grabbed a shirt and walked out, pulling on the first as he went. Back outside, Eric sighed and cuddled the little boy a little, not meaning to frighten him. Ronald had decided he was now sleepy after his long day and snuggled into Eric. "M', y'r m' big brother now, cus I says so." He stated sleepily.

"Okay then." Eric said as he wrapped his arm loosely around the boy.

"What is going on out here?" Eric asked as he walked into the foyer, and eying the two that were on the floor.

Ronald just let out a yawn before speaking. "We're sleepin'" He stated, leaning backwards in Eric's arms so he was lying upside down. He did this to try and get a better look at William, though it just made it harder to see now that everything was upside down.

William just raised an eyebrow and walked over to pick up Ronald. "I take it that he ended up at the office." He said in a questioning tone.

Eric nodded and Ronald snuggled William close. "M' super-duper sleepy…" He stated before falling asleep in William's arms.

William sighed and took Ronald into his bedroom, laying him on the bed. That done, he went back to the foyer, thanked Eric for bringing Ronald back and picked up the back that was filled with candy and hit it somewhere in the kitchen.

Ronald had slept for a good amount of time, quite content while he was sleep, although the same thing could not be said when he awoke, though Ronald did not act like much of anything was wrong. William had drifted off once more beside the toddler and continued to sleep, even once Ronald awoke. Ronald had decided to sprawl out across William. He had wanted to be paid attention to and cuddled until he fell asleep again. He would fall asleep on his own but it wasn't really the same to him. William continued to sleep even with Ronald laying all over him. There were soft snores coming from him in his peaceful sleep. Ronald had a particularly nasty headache when he had woken up, and every sound seemed to make his head pound more. This being the case, he felt as though William's snoring was too loud even though it was rather quiet. He decided to take it into his own hands and shoved a pillow over William's face to make him quiet down. "Shoosh daddy!" He stated in a loud whisper.

When William's airways were shut off, he startled awake. William had died by drowning when he was a human. So it was always a natural reaction of his to panic when he felt as though he couldn't breathe. William's first instinct was to push forward to get rid of whatever was blocking his airway. Unfortunately Ronald was what was in the way, and he was pushed off the bed. This caused poor Ronald to stumble backwards and hit his head on the bedside table with a loud CRACK! Ronald let out a small whimper as he held back some tears and held his head in his hands. William jumped out of the bed and brought Ronald close to his chest. He began to check him over, concerned for him. "Are you alright Ronald?"

Ronald just hid his face in William's chest "ahhh, you're too loud" He held his head tightly as his head pounded. The toddler had a headache from the fever he was sporting, but it had worsened when he hit his head.

This caused William to frown as he put an arm around Ronald and gently ran a hand over the toddler's head, checking for any wounds. Finding none, he let out a sigh of relief before he noticed that Ronald's skin was felt a little too warm. "Are you feeling okay?" William whispered softly to Ronald, not wanting to be too loud for the toddler.

Ronald just nodded and lied to William. "Mhmm, m' feelin' jus' fine, jus' m' head hurts r'lly bad 's all" he spoke in a very soft tone, though the sound of his voice made his head pound even more.

William just raised an eyebrow at the toddler, not really believing what he was being told. "Are you sure?"

Ronald just nodded though "Mhmm, jus' m' head hurts super bad, but tha's 'cus I fell n' got hurt…" He puffed out his cheeks in thought "'rn't ya supposed ta' be at work?" He questioned, trying to take the attention off of himself.

William frowned and ran his hand over Ronald's head once more, trying to ignore the feeling of the warm skin. "I should be, but there was an emergency yesterday, I shall be going back soon"

"M' surprised Aunty or Bubba" he paused for a second "hasn't come ta get up, 'cus yer always at work, 'n now yer not, s m' surprised yer gone" Ronald pondered out loud.

"They had best be working themselves" William stated as he stood and went to go get dressed, leaving Ronald where he was.

This caused a small giggle to erupt from Ronald. "I dun' think Auntie's workin', bubba either, mama might be, but yer not" he stated, a small grin on his face.

William just groaned as he pulled on a white shirt, jacket and tie, remembering the last endeavor with Ronald's nose bleed. He was pretty sure that 'Aunty' was Grell, but he wasn't quite sure who the other two were now. "Who are bubba and mama?"

"Bubba's Er'c, n' mama is the other one, the, uh, the one with the um, hair, and the face, and glasses, and mama's always hangin' around bubba" Ronald tried to explain, not quite sure what 'mama's' name was.

William nodded, listening to Ronald try and describe 'mama'. "Ah, so Alan, So Eric is bubba, and Alan is mama." He restated to make sure that he got it right.

Ronald nodded happily "n yer daddy, n miss red is aunty, n' m' Ronnie!" He giggled happily before having to grasp his head in pain "ah, m' too loud" he stated quietly.

"Well then, I had aunty right." William just chuckled quietly as he picked up Ronald and headed to the kitchen. "Do you want some tea? Or maybe something to eat?" he asked the little tike in his arms.

Ronald just shook his head softly "nu-uh, m' not hungry, but thank ya' daddy." He stated before nuzzling into William, laying his head on the older man's shoulder. Ronald knew that he most likely wouldn't be able to keep anything down, and rather than bother his 'dad' with that, he kept it a secret instead.

William just sighed and grabbed a scone to go for him, and one for Ronald just in case he got hungry later, and headed off to work. Ronald looked at William while they were walking to work. The motion of walking was disorienting to him and so he said the first thing that came to mind really. "M, yer super fancy daddy…super duper fancy…wen….we get ta the office…can I wonder? I promise…I'll be super good…I just wanna….see bubba n mama…n Aunty, n you, you can do yer paperwork" he spoke in choppy sentences, focusing on William completely.

William paused for a moment, thinking "Will you stay with someone?" he asked, opening the door as they arrived at the office and William walked inside.

Ronald just nodded "mhmm, m' pro'lly gonna stay with…" he faked a yawn, feeling rather…odd for a second or two. "bubba n' mama"

"Very well Ronald, stay with Eric or Alan. And do try to avoid Mr. Sutcliff if possible." William said, agreeing to let him walk around some while William worked in his office.

"Se-Sa-Si" he tried to pronounce 'Sutcliff' before he decided to give up. "Aunty is a lady." He stated matter-o-factly. "n I will stay with bubba n' mama" He promised as he was set down on the floor. Once he was on the ground, Ronald ran off to Eric and Alan's office, climbing onto their rolley chair and uses that as a stool to get up onto the desk.

William just shook his head and headed off into his office to go and work, leaving Ronald in the hopefully capable hands of Eric and Alan. Meanwhile, Ronald waited for his 'buba' and 'mama' to get to their office, he noticed the pens and paperwork spread across the desk and decided he would make the boring old papers more interesting by drawing on them. When Eric and Alan walked in together, they automatically noticed the toddler that was on top of Eric's desk. "How are ya' kid?" He asked as they came over, and Eric gathered Ronald loosely into his arms, taking him off of the desk and sitting him in his lap as he sat down to look over what he had to do for the day.

Ronald just wiggled around in Eric's lap until he had decided that he was moderately comfortable. "Mmm, 'm good" He looked up at Eric and leaned into him, smiling softly. "M, yer r'lly…comfy bubby" He gave a lazy smile at Eric, not seeming to be completely there so to speak.

Eric let out a chuckle as Ronald squirmed around in his lap, and reached around the toddler to start on his work. "Good, good" he picked up his pen and noticed the doodles all over his paperwork. Giving a sigh, he glanced down at the toddler in his lap and shook his head. "Thank ye I guess and uh, why are there doodles all over my paperwork?" he questioned.

"I wanted…ta make yer…paperwork all pretty." Ronald reached up and placed his hands on top of Eric's mouth. "n, ah…yer like…super-duper…looooouuud." He paused for a second. "You should be…like less loud….please," He papped Eric's mouth before putting his arm down once again.

"Well thank ye for the thought, but now I can't turn it in." Eric said as Ronald's hand came up at patted his mouth, making some of the words softer than the others. Eric frowned down at Ronald, wondering why the kid was saying that he was too loud when he was talking at a normal volume.

"Oh…m' sorry…I jus…I wanted to make it…pr'tty n' such cus…it looked sad." Ronald stated solemnly and quietly, snuggling into Eric as much as he could, it felt rather cold and Eric was so warm. "Mmm, I fell inta a…desk stand earlier…mmph!" He put a hand over one of his ears, feeling a sudden pain but not saying anything about that.

"It's alright, I ain' mad kid, jus' be a lit'le more careful wha' ya star' drawing on." Eric said and cuddled the little boy, not yet noticing the heat radiating off of him. His mind was still considering what Ronald said had happened earlier. He figured the toddler had a killer headache and reached around Ronald for the drawer that had medicine in it, he figured he could give him a little bit of something to ease the pain.

Ronald simply nodded at the other, watching as he reached into the drawer, curious as to what he was doing, but at the same time he realized he didn't care all too much. He focused on trying to rest his head on Eric's chest, but decided that the sound of his heart beat was too loud, and was making his head hurt even more. Even when he pulled away his head still hurt really badly. He closed his eyes deciding the light hurt his ears as well. Ronald now had a full bow migraine. Eric pulled out a vial with a few pills that lay inside of it. He took out one pill and broke it in half, turning his head and asking Alan to go get some water so Ronald could take the pill. He then stood and gathered Ronald loosely in his arms and took him into the break room, turning off all the lights in there and closing the curtains so it was dark. He laid Ronald down on the couch and sat beside him. Ronald made a small surprised squeak when Eric sat beside him, because he was not expecting the dip in the couch. He wiggled his way around, so his head was now resting on Eric's lap and the rest of his body was curled into a loose ball on the couch. Ronald closed his eyes, trying to will away the ever present pounding that was occurring in his skull. Eric held in his chuckles when Ronald wiggled himself onto his lap and ran his hand through Ronald's hair as he waited for Alan to turn up with the water, the half pill of aspirin still resting in his hand, he felt really sorry for the kid. Alan walked into the room, a cup of water in his hand. He tried to close the door as quietly as he could but if he closed it too fast it would slam close, but if he closed it slowly, it would have creaked beyond belief. Alan tried his best not to slam the door or make it creek as best as possible, but it was inevitable. He cringed at the loud noise it was making; just imagining how much it would hurt Ronald's head. Once the door was closed, Alan walked over to the two, water in hand. He handed it to Eric, looking over at Ronald rather concerned for the little toddler, though you couldn't see his concerned face in the dark room. Eric took the water and nodded his head in thanks. "Ronald, kid, ya need ta si' up, I got some'hing tha' should help with 'he pain." He whispered as he sat Ronald up and handed him the water, still holding the pill.

Ronald wiggled around slightly before sitting up, well more like leaning against Ronald to keep himself up. He took the water from Eric, holding it in his hands; he took tiny sips of the water because he was once taught by a good friend of his.

Kim Cooper, a petite girl right around Ronald's age, she was five foot hair, had soft curly brown hair, and soft hazel eyes. Kim was the sweetest girl you could ever meet and she was Ronald's only friend and Ronald couldn't be happier about that. She loved to call him Ronnie, Ron-Ron, and his personal favorite Ronnie-Ron. She would always take care of him, whether he was hurt or sick. Right about now, Ronald was strewn across Kim's bed, the lights were turned off and the blinds were closed. Ronald was on his way from school, sporting a high fever, walking in the snow when Kim spotted him and offered to take him home. He had gone to deny by when she had realized that Ronald was unwell, she dragged him to her house and here they were now. Kim was out of the room and Ronald was just about to fall asleep when the door opened and closed and Kim walked in. "Ronnie-Ron, I need ya' ta' sit up so ya' can take this, 'kay?" She spoke in soft voice, to Ronald it was angelic. He nodded and sat up, clutching his head in pain.

He let out a noise of pain, his head pounding more. He opened his eyes to see a cup of water being handed to him. "Take a couplea sips 'for you take the asprin, 'kay?" Ronald looked up into that sweet smiles of hers and nodded softly, taking some small sips of the water before he was handed the aspirin and took that as well, handing the water back and going back to laying down. Kim Cooper was the best and only friend he had, and poor Ronald was devastated when she was killed in a car crash.

Shaking his head at the memory, the small toddler waited for Eric to hand him the pill so he could, hopefully, go back to lying down. Eric took the pill and placed it in Ronald's hand after had taken a couple of sips of water. He continued to run his hand through Ronald's hair comfortingly as he sat there waiting for him to take the pill and drink the water. Ronald placed the pill in his mouth and sipped at the water some more to make the pill go down before he decided he was done with the water. He lifted it up for Eric to take, and once Ronald no longer had the water in hand, he lay down and closed his eyes in hopes that he would fall asleep but didn't expect to. Eric just sighed and placed the water on the nearby table, continuing to run a hand through Ronald's hair. He was now noticing how warm Ronald's forehead was, he frowned more and just hoped that the aspirin would ease the headache and lower his temperature.


End file.
